ABCD Program Reflection

The Smithville city council assumes that crime persists because the city’s police force has too low a profile, but the memo never cites evidence to support this position. The council could do something as simple yet effective as asking the town librarian to review published studies to see whether a parallel exists between a high police presence and reduced crime rates. It could also hire an independent research

When evaluating urban renewal projects, Professor Steven Cord found that “By far most of the housing destroyed was low cost housing,” (184). The statistics in Kelo also showed that 56 percent of nonwhites and 38 percent of whites displaced by urban renewal were qualified to receive public housing due to their low incomes. Further, the destruction of housing forces individuals to seek relocation housing. Relocation housing is not guaranteed to be readily available or to be superior to the housing destroyed (Cord 185). Eminent domain has broken up neighborhoods and forced out longtime residents (Cord 184).

I liked everything about this course. The seminars, study plans, and the weekly discussions help

Gentrification is often related to the improvement of community in terms of crimes, economy and housing conditions. In this article, Scott C Macdonald discusses the relationship between gentrification and crime rates and how it affects the residents of gentrified neighborhoods. Furthermore, Macdonald explains why gentrification should reduce crime by stating that affluent neighborhoods typically have low crime rates that poor neighborhoods, thus as the urban neighborhood become more affluent the crime rates should decrease because of the change in social class. Similarly, the new comers of the neighborhood tend to be more engaged in the neighborhood security activities such as organizing citizen patrols and neighborhood watches than

When a neighborhood is gentrified it will not only change the image of it, but also the services available there (Al-Kodmany 2011, 62-63). In other words, gentrification does not only have an impact on the physical aspect of the land, but also the resources that lie there. During the 90s, the Near West Side neighborhood located near Loop, an up-scale neighborhood, sought drastic changes within the area. The changes in racial demographics in the Near West Side indicated that the health risks that affected minorities dropped in the past decade (1992-2002) (Al-Kodmany 2011,

I came into this class not so naïve as some students may have been. I’ve grown up going to public schools, living in a diverse small town, and having interracial relationships in my family. Although I was informed on some forms of racism and the fact that racism does in fact still exist, I didn’t realize it was extensive as it really is. All the readings, videos, and lectures have directly related back to the purpose of the course. As a whole, I feel like this class has grown in knowledge not only about how racism affects people, but how to change and make a difference. This class has informed me a lot more about the unfortunately thriving acts of racism in the United States.

During my interview, Dr. Owens let me know that the U.S. Census Bureau stopped collecting data on income, and referred me to the American Community survey. Furthermore, she gave me feedback on my index for gentrification, and made the suggestion to exclude race and ethnicity since affluent racial minorities can contribute to gentrification. By specifying the factors investigating and listing my assumptions, I give the a general idea of why I think that these factors are important to the operationalization of gentrification, and support my choices with what has been done in past studies. In the discussion section, I reason why this study is significant and how it could lead to subsequent policy changes. By outlining ways in which different audiences can benefit from this study, I show that in addition to extending the existing research, my study has the potential to make societal impacts across various fields. If this proposal were to become a dissertation, this section would be more extensive and would draw upon the results found after collecting all the

As I mentioned above, most articles concerning gentrification focus heavily on the displacement of racial minorities that gentrification causes; therefore, the authors focus on the larger theme of racial stratification in our society instead of specific instances paints gentrification as a more prominent issue. Also, I believe researchers should evolve in their usage of technology in the field so the usage of Google Street View was a nice addition to the research methods.

Many would comment that gentrification will change the atmosphere of a city. What if that meant protecting its citizens by establishing a safer neighborhood? In the article series “York&Fig At the Intersection of Change”, Marina Bellizzi, a former citizen of Highland Park, a city which is facing gentrification, was interviewed on how much her hometown has changed since she left for college. She attended a local high school in Highland Park describing her time there as embarrassing and underprivileged, “we had pregnant teenagers, we had unsuccessful teachers. So, there was a lot of shame that was thrown at going to my high school” (“Gentrifiers”). Now Bellizzi says that the high school is being “perceived as this positive place” ( “Gentrifiers”). This is one of the many pieces of evidence that prove how a safer community changes the perspective of a town. Another piece of evidence that proves how gentrification can change for the better is seen in the city of Los Angeles. According to LA Weekly, reporter Art Tavana stated that the result of gentrification in the Los Angeles area has affected the crime rate, “For the past 11 years, crimes rates in L.A have generally dropped”. The author of the article describes that demographics have changed saying “gang members on a street corner throwing gang signs are now equivalent to members of the Tea Party hanging out in West Hollywood” (Tavana). In other

This helps to reduce crime in the renovated area. There is a reduction in the growth of violence like armed robbery, gun violence, and gang operations in this area because of safety measures like police patrol and security implemented in these communities. Since resident spends a huge amount of money and resources into new housing, the management is forced to provide enough security for its tenants in order for them to feel safe neighborhood that I move to. Due to the huge sum of money I paid for the house in that neighborhood, I felt secure living in such a neighborhood because the police constantly patrolled around the neighborhood ensuring that everyone was protected and felt safe at all times.

I learned some important things from this course that I will allow to stick with me no matter my profession. Diversity is something I will always have to deal with regardless if it is race, gender, or gender orientation. Importantly this course has allowed me to grow as an individual and has shown me that it is okay to learn about other races and their background. Not only has it allowed me to be acceptable of everyone in fact, it has allowed me to be less judgmental amongst others.

During module #3 I was very shocked at some of the findings I discovered. I never realized how much the role of race in urban America and the way it has affected and shaped the spatial organization of cities. Being asked this question prior to this module I would of had no idea what was going on. I never thought about poverty, race, where people live and why they live there, or even crime in areas like I do now. It shocks me to see how much cities and people living in the cities are struggling from poverty and how race is a major factor in all of this. Thinking back on Davenport, and what has been going on in my home town has really helped me connect all the things we have learned in class to my life. Poverty, crime, race, and where

If I were to describe this course to a friend I would say this class is more than what anyone expects and is extremely eye-opening. It is not like a normal studies class, where it has boring content. It has content that is insightful and allows you to really think about the issues at hand. I would encourage a friend to take it because it is not only a fun class but very informative. I would prepare them for the reality of this class. This class does not just touch the surface of issues we have in society, but it goes much deeper.

generates these maps. The maps tell police where crimes might happen –- before they take place.

This project is a focus on how variables such as population, ethnicity, and income affect crime rates throughout different neighborhoods throughout a city. I feel that this information finding this information could be useful to many people. For example if you are looking to buy a new home or even start a new business, you’ll probably want it located in a safe neighborhood. This study will help identify the signs of a safe neighborhood. Knowing why crime rates are higher in some areas may also help prevent the crime rate to rise in other neighborhoods. For example, if crime rates are higher in neighborhoods with